DNA technology is playing an increasingly important role in solving serious criminal cases in South China's Guangdong Province.

Police in Zhongshan found a nude body of a woman in a suitcase at a park in the city's Xiaolan Township on March 7, and sent a sample of the victim's blood to the DNA data bank at the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security.

The woman was immediately identified as a Shenzhen resident surnamed Liu who had gone missing.

And a 53-year-old Hong Kong resident whose family name is Chan was soon investigated. Chan used to be Liu's lover.

After months of investigation, Chan and two other two suspects who came from South China's Chongqing Municipality were detained by the end of June.

Chan and the other two suspects surnamed Li and Chen confessed to having killed Liu at a Shenzhen house after robbing Liu of her property in early March.

Zheng Dong, deputy director-general of the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security, said it was the first time that DNA technology was introduced to solve a homicide case in Guangdong, which borders the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Addressing a news conference Tuesday, Zheng promised to use DNA and other high-tech means in investigating additional criminal cases, particularly homicide and other serious cases, in the coming months.

DNA technology will play an especially important role in investigating rape, child abductions and kidnapping cases, according to Zheng.

Zheng said all the suspects who have once been detained in Guangdong have had their DNA samples logged into the DNA data bank at the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security.

Zheng said his bureau is determined to solve all the homicide cases that happen in the southern Chinese province.

Meanwhile, the bureau published a wanted list of 100 suspects still at large, who are believed to have been involved in homicide cases in the province. Rewards have been offered for the capture of the runaway suspects.

Guangdong police have solved 733 homicide cases, detaining 1,017 suspects in the first half of the year.

(China Daily July 21, 2004)